[jpeek29208]

Picking up a new clutch in about a week or so. Getting ready to do a 5 spd conversion. Just curious if theres a certain way to break in the clutch. How many miles do i need to go? Is there a certain rpm i can take it to? Tips and all would be appreicated.

Josh

 

[hoser813]

i wouldnt really worry about a stock clutch.... Id say give it about 100 miles without dumping or racing or shifting hard and you should be ok. Thats what I did on mine, and dont have any problems.

 

[jpeek29208]

ok awesome, any other tips?

 

[Iceberg319]

isnt the usual breakin 500 miles, stop and go city driving and no hard launching and shifting

 

[Trent]

Stock clutch = no breakin necessary.

Drive it like you stole it. The aftermarket discs, both the composite, and puck style, need a breakin. The stock clutch does not.

 

[drjonez]

Stock clutch = no breakin necessary.

Drive it like you stole it. The aftermarket discs, both the composite, and puck style, need a breakin. The stock clutch does not.

not sure what planet you're on, but that's completely false. organic discs need the same 500 mile break-in as all other discs....

 

[jpeek29208]

ok i got two big gurus telling the complete opposite, so im kinda worried, i was under the impression that all clutches needed a break in. any other ideas.

 

[shailey]

will it really hurt you to break it in even if not needed? i mean... be safe not sorry.

 

[hoser813]

really, the break in period is just taking it easy on the clutch by not dropping it and doing huge burnouts, and not racing on it. Just be cool for about 100 miles and then do whatever. I mean, its stupid not to take it easy, because what if you do break it right when you get it in? Then you'll be pissed that you have to do it all over again. Also, I found that after 300 miles, my clutch grabs better than it did when I first got it in, so....

 

[drjonez]

ok i got two big gurus telling the complete opposite, so im kinda worried, i was under the impression that all clutches needed a break in. any other ideas.

correction: 1 big guru and 1 f body owner.

 

[toyota_supra_1988]

i do beileve when you have to break in a clutch. maybe not as much as an aftermarket clutch. its not like breaking in an engine without boosting, but just no dumping the clutch or trying to get up hills in 5th gear lol

 

[cre3d]

General concensus is you want to go for a few hundred miles without being stupid. Anything that will cause the clutch disc to slip on the flywheel/pressure plate surfaces creates the opportunity for it to "glaze" over. This oppportunity is greatly minimized once a good mating surface is broken in, which happens more quickly on an organic (stock) disc than high performance aftermarket discs. Pretty logical really. The reason your clutch grabs better after 250 miles of breakin is because you've created that mating surface and now it will be ALOT harder to glaze the disc, even when slippage does occur. Hope that makes sense.

Edit: My spec stage 2 kevlar disc steadily got grabbier and grabbier all the way up to the 1,000 mile mark. I didn't baby it too much after 500, but I also didn't drop the clutch or purposely slip it at any time, just drove it with clean engagements and no burnouts. It was at the 2,000 mile mark when the motor came out and the disc looks GREAT, not to mention the clutch was grabbing hard as hell.

 

[Trent]

correction: 1 big guru and 1 f body owner.

What the fuck does that have to do with anything? I've broken in tons and tons of clutches and installed just as many. Maybe drive it like you stole it is a harsh way to put it, but the last stock clutch I had put in a mk3 or any other car for that matter was just driven around normal and was fine.

Granted, most people don't do harsh launches and abuse their clutches, so a break in period is not advised by anyone.

I've had clutches last TONS of miles that had the hell beat out of them from day one. I've installed a Spec Stage 3 and taken it to the track with less than 20 miles on it. I've seen clutches that were broken in meticulously that lasted under 5k miles.

If you want to be sure, just drive it nice for a couple hundred. I don't and haven't advised anyone to using a stock clutch, but that's just me. Obvious the Mr. Perfect DrJ with his head way up his ass doesn't view it that way. Big deal.

**Thread closed before DrJ says something that's going to just cause unnecessary trouble**